By announcing a Windows 8 tablet of its own design, Microsoft has made quite clear its intent to go toe-to-toe with Apple. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer echoed that position in a recent interview with CRN. While he conceded that Microsoft and its partners have previously "ceded some of the boundary between hardware and software innovation [to Apple]," he said the software giant doesn't plan to play catch-up anymore:

"But we are not going to let any piece of this [go uncontested to Apple]," shouted Ballmer.